Curious about something. What Kind of Thief do y'all wanna fight?

[Psycoprophet.8107]

Years ago when I first started playing thief backstab was key for the thief's burst rotation. Backstab hit very hard which made landing one top priority, I miss that playstyle as it felt sneaky and rogue like. Over the years ini, stealth and backstab damage have been nerfed over and over resulting in the class relying to heavily on stealth and  SA traitline when it already had a mandatory traitline in trickery due to Preparedness. Back track the nerfs to ini costs, increase backstab damage, make Preparedness baseline and redesign stealth so only stealth from blinding powder, shadow refuge and hide in shadows can be used while in combat. Revert the nerfs to smoke screen as in that form it was strong enough to use in combat just for its aoe pulsing blind, being able to use it outa combat for stealth stacking with hs would be balanced with proposed buffs imo. These changes would still allow for ambush playstyle rogue users expect while pushing thieves more into a playstyle where proper set up ambush rotations are rewarded with heavy burst but also removes their ability to stealth in combat without using limited and important cds. Having limited in combat stealth options would force thieves to commit more to the fight and rely on evades to survive. Thieves access to ports for disengagement is fine imo due to massive mobility creep that is in today's version of the game....across all classes.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Psycoprophet.8107

[cyberzombie.7348]

High steath low mobility, and close range was how I used to play thief during vanilla years. Along with being a glass cannon, that frame of playstyle was dangerous for both my targets and myself. Since if I got unlucky with a non crit or misread a situation I was good as dead. 

And call me crazy but being on the recieving end was just as fun to me. As I miss the tension and paranoia of being killed out of nowhere, and using all 6 senses to make sure I don't. 

[Ragnar.4257]

S/D thief is the only one that ever feels good to fight against. Also the only one I really enjoy playing, but the damage/initiative ratio right now just isn't right on it.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

The most fun I have fighting thieves is when little stealth, it at all, is involved. They of course have lots of ports then, but those fights become a dance of CDs where you two are almost completely in synch with each other in what becomes an epic fight that only ends when one person misses a CD by mere fractions of a second or misplays an animation only to eat a faster cast damage skill.

[Frequency.6407]

My class can kill all thieves so no problem but nerf ele please

[Shao.7236]

First option.

After the nerfs to Infiltrator Arrow I haven't had much to complain.

Specter was beyond overpowered because it was fresh. They could have done better with the shroud but at least they are possible to beat now.

Deadeye has toxic gameplay that revolves around pressing one button to which they could easily move the damage to the right weapon skill and it would no longer be that much of an issue. 

I remember when S/D was meta, not many complained and there were counters for it. It was balanced enough to require good player skill.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Shao.7236

[cyberzombie.7348]

@Ragnar.4257I still remember when mirror s/d duels were a thing. It was like watching a mix between naruto and dbz fights

[Noko Anon.9154]

Voted for high mobility and low stealth. S/D core is my favorite for a reason. Quoting myself from a thread in the thief sub forum:

Stealth abuse is another issue thief has, and why wouldn’t a thief use stealth when it’s both powerful and easy?  I personally prefer S/D core, but pit me against a D/P DD or rifle DE, and I will get wiped. They will have better “evasion” (becoming untargetable), better initiative management (+3 initiative for setting up a backstab by going into and out of stealth), and better cleansing, not to mention actual combat initiative in terms of choosing the flow of the fight. I don’t have a problem with using stealth attacks, but when they can be pulled off so often and so reliably with all the defenses SA provides, that’s an issue.

That leads to [another] problem, which is also becoming present in willbenders, scrappers, rangers, and mesmers, is that the best way to play the profession is by not playing with anyone else at all. Interactivity is not the name of the game with the best thief builds. Don’t get targeted, don’t take condition damage, and run away if your health dips below 75%; where’s the fun in that? Granted, I’m sure someone out there enjoys that play style, but I’m not one of them.